What We Know: Logan Lucky

By: Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)
Steven Soderbergh has been out of the feature film scene since 2013 in a self-imposed movie-making retirement. So what kind of project would pull the notable director back? Why, a heist movie, of course! Logan Lucky is the comedic heist movie with a star-studded cast that snuck up on us all, and it’s going to be bonkers! Find out what we know so far about the film right here!
In February 2016, it was announced that Soderbergh was coming out of his “retirement” to direct a project written by Rebecca Blunt. Casting news continued from February to August of 2016, when filming finally began. Filming occurred at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Atlanta Motor Speedway, at actual races such as the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500. Logan Lucky is produced by Gregory Jacobs, Mark Johnson, Reid Carolin, and Channing Tatum and executively produced by Michael Polaire, Dan Fellman, and NASCAR’s Zane Stoddard.
What could NASCAR and motor speedways possibly have to do with a heist movie, you ask? Well, everything, it seems! Logan Lucky finds redneck brothers Jimmy (Tatum) and Clyde (Adam Driver) Logan trying to reverse a family curse and pull off a grand heist! One-armed bartender Clyde teams up with recently-fired construction worker Jimmy to try to steal the betting cash brought in at the famous Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina on Memorial Day weekend. With Jimmy’s knowledge from his construction work on the money system at the race track and the enlistment of explosive expert Joe Bang (Daniel Craig), the Logan family will pit their luck against the law (with Hilary Swank pursuing them) and their curse!
Are you hooked yet? (They had me at Daniel Craig as an explosive expert named Joe Bang.) Get a look at the wacky trailer here:

Lucky Logan has big comedy names in Tatum and Seth McFarlane (as Max Chilblain), but after learning that 007’s Craig used his exaggerated southern accent and higher pitched voice both on and off the screen, it’s possible that everyone else on the cast might be sporting some serious comedy chops too! The film also stars Riley Keough (as Mellie Logan), Katie Holmes (as Bobbie Jo Logan Chapman), Katherine Waterston (as Sylvia Harrison), Sebastian Stan (as Dayton White), Brian Gleeson (as Sam Bang), David Denman (as Moody), and many more! Add in six NASCAR stars in non-driver cameos and the race to the number one spot in the box office this summer doesn’t seem too far-fetched!
As director of the rebooted Ocean’s franchise, a heist film like Logan Lucky is in good hands with Soderbergh. Ocean’s composer David Holmes was even brought on board for the new hilarious robbery flick. Soderbergh has described this new project as “an anti-glam version of an Ocean’s movie,” adding, “Nobody dresses nice. Nobody has nice stuff. They have no money. They have no technology…that’s what I thought was fun about it. It seemed familiar to me but different enough. The landscape, the characters, and the canvass were the complete opposite of an Ocean’s film.”
Will the Logan family break the curse and pull off the job of a lifetime with loads of laughter? Are you on board with this outlandish heist flick? Watch the adventure unfold this summer, as Lucky Logan is slated to premiere in the U.S. on August 18, 2017. Check out the film’s official Facebook page and Twitter while you wait!